Oasis flower and butterfly activity improving

The Mexican Redbud tree is in full bloom.

I like native pollinators. Here's one on Littleleaf Sumac that's starting to bloom all over the oasis.

Littleleaf Sumac attracts butterflies too. Here's a  Great Purple Hairstreak on it.

Feeling good!

I'm so glad to have the road work finished. At least as good as it can be without paving it. And it's nice for birders to have the back-road experience without risk to vehicles. Hopefully, it'll hold up for a long time with little touching up.

Couldn't work the top of the big hill because it would leave it rubble-covered with no traction. Better be rough and people make it up than to not get traction. We had enough trouble on the less steep lower part of the hill after the work was done. It'll soon pack in with rain and traffic and be fine, of course.

Lighter part on top is the same as it was

Some places neither the dozer nor my rake could do much with, but at least we got rid of the high center for low clearance vehicles.

Some of you may remember how rough this slope was right up against the fence. Hoping it will never get as bad as it was before. There is still rough bedrock underneath the dirt, but he removed a bunch of it, so hoping that, and a few other similar places, will wear better now. Slopes are always the issue. Flat spots never have a problem. Between spinning tires and monsoonal runoff, the slopes wear the worst.

I'm none the worse for wear myself. A blister on the inside of my thumb is the only residual effect that I can tell. It's good to know that I can still do it.  Sitting in town all winter always sets me back. I'm not deluded enough to think I can climb my mountain or anything, but at least I can still do some maintenance. Patching tank is next on the list.

Still alive here

I only got in 3 hours of raking today. Still not recovered from yesterday I guess. My road manicuring standards have seriously deteriorated.

Birders today that had been here before said it was improved. They had a little trouble with getting traction on uphill slopes. Fortunately, I had kept the dozer off the steepest part of the big hill for that very reason. So the birders did make it up. The other areas are all powder now but as soon as it rains it'll pack in and be fine. Chance of rain this coming week.

Gonna do the best I'm able on the road in the morning and then quit. Can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Then during the next month I need to focus on patching the stucco tank. That's always an annual thing. I don't see any holes, but in places where the coating is peeling off, it needs to be repainted with Drylok. No hurry as we shouldn't get a monsoon for months yet.

None of my attempts at keeping bees off feeders has worked so far. My last option it to fill a big heavy feeder that maybe the woodpecker can't tilt.

Orange tree in the house is in full bloom, filling the house with its heavenly aroma.

Pushed beyond the limit

The dozer work today went well, but my road is mostly rocks so has to be raked to be acceptable. Also the cleats on the dozer left it like a washboard to drive on even where I had no work done. So I raked until I couldn't. I had six spots of the road worked on and was determined to finish raking one of them today. Was close to making it, even though ready to collapse, when I got a terrible pain, like a Charley-horse in my left shoulder. Couldn't move after that. Came to the house at 7 PM and took ibuprofen. If I don't move, the pain is now bearable. Gonna turn in early tonight.

It's so wonderful to finally have someone to do road work. After my late husband passed away I didn't have anyone. Then I married my current husband, who lives in Alpine, and he got a little bobcat that he would occasionally be persuaded to bring down and do some work. But it was very contentious. He never could get anyone to work on it so sold it. 

Brian Kline lives locally and can do whatever I need done, so I'm a happy camper... once I get it raked. While digging out some large boulders a pin holding the blade came out. Brian cheerfully hammered it back in with a rock.

A killer day

I wore myself totally out watering trees this morning and hadn't heard from the road contractor. So after lunch, as bad as I needed a nap, I forced myself to pack up and go to town. My husband was chomping at the bit without me there for one day.

No sooner did I get unpacked in town than I got a text from the contractor that he's coming tomorrow to do the work. He even brought his dozer over this evening. So I packed up again and came back to the oasis. I don't like to drive at night, but I did. Tomorrow will be a killer day, picking up rocks and raking the road, but I'll be so glad to get it improved.

While I was watering this morning I was combating bees at the feeders. Had a pretty intense reaction to yesterday's sting too. Pain and swelling, then bad itching today. Never had that before.

Anyway, I tried various things hoping to deter the woodpecker. I hung a fat-reservoir feeder and cut off the perches so it couldn't sit on the feeder. It tried though because when I went back 30 minutes later it was covered with bees. I'll just have to see if it gives up or what.

I found some cheap feeders someone had given me that have tiny bases. No woodpecker could sit on it but don't know if bees will bother it or not. We'll see. It' has a pretty deep base so that should be good. It's cheap thin plastic and won't hold up long, but may last long enough for the woodpecker to move on. A work in progress. I'm falling asleep here so have to get to bed. Road work pictures tomorrow.

What's NOT happening at CMO

Got down here this morning to bee-covered feeders. The woodpecker is NOT leaving. I got stung while taking down a bee-laden feeder.

Also NOT happening is the roadwork. The contractor finally answered my texts and said maybe Thursday or Friday. So my hopes are up once again.

The cottonwood tree is covered with bees but that's NOT bothering me. It normally is as it starts leafing out.

The Mexican Redbud is starting to bloom too.

NOT happening is a nesting hole in the new agave stalk. Elf Owls are arriving this week. Neighbors to the south heard one last night. However, if the Ladder-backed Woodpeckers hurry they can still make it happen. The females are likely NOT arriving until next week and the woodpeckers can make a cavity quickly once they set their bills to it.

Saw my first Henry's Elfin of the year today, although NOT on the redbud tree where I expected to see it.

I realize how special the oasis is when I read how traffic-jammed the park is. Here I am, sitting in peace and quiet, watching Lucifer Hummingbirds.

UPDATE: Heard an Elf Owl at the oasis this evening.

Ordinary Alpine day

The apple tree seems to have more blooms than ever before.

I photographed this raptor that I assume is a Cooper's Hawk, but I'm not good at IDing raptors.

Tomato time

Last year for some unknown reason our tomatoes didn't thrive. By midsummer they were all dead. Hopefully, they'll do better this year, because I killed myself planting them.

Here's a photo a visitor took at the oasis a few days ago. That darn woodpecker!

Stuck in town

I'm optimistic that the roadwork will get scheduled in the next couple of days. Meanwhile, here are a couple of butterfly photos I took yesterday at the oasis. I'm up to six species for the year so far, but it should increase rapidly now that winter is over.

Eastern Black Swallowtail

AZ Powdered-Skipper on Slimleaf Plains Mustard

A little stressed

I worked hard the last two days so gave myself the morning off before having to head to town. Now I'm behind and to make it worse, we set the clocks forward in the morning so I'll lose an hour there.

I'm trying to be real cautious about viruses what with the corona virus on the rampage. But it's difficult. No matter how careful I am out in public, if I come home and my husband hasn't been careful, then everything he touches could be contaminated. I'll try anyway. Probably by the time I decide to quarantine myself at the oasis, it'll be too late. I just worry because I have enough trouble breathing as it is, without a virus attacking my lungs. In December I nearly ended up in the hospital with bronchitis from the flu B. So there's that.

Yesterday I ate my second, and last, orange from my tree.

And after I watered everything, I further killed myself digging out a bush so the little Arizona Cypress tree that volunteered to grow there could do better. I didn't get out the taproot so it'll probably be an ongoing challenge. Here are before and after shots.

This morning was lovely. I sat by the big tank taking photos. None turned out very good. Probably because it's such a long distance across the tank. There were four Gadwalls on the tank, but they flushed when I hung around.

I was glad to see a Lucifer Hummingbird male set up his feeding territory near the tank. That means when ocotillo are blooming and Lucifers are scarce at the feeders people needing it for their life list can get it there.

Remember those hexagonal tiles I bought for the rock tank? A bunch of them leak and sink to the bottom. When I remove them from the water the tiles don't leak the water back out to where I can find the leak and patch it. I'll drain the tank soon and see what I can do about the problem. I'd say at least three dozen have sunk to the bottom and a couple dozen more on their way to sinking. Always something. As expensive as they are you'd think they could make them waterproof.

And I'm stressing about the upcoming roadwork. I know it'll be really stressful, but so great once it's done.